19 March 2010

Moistest Low Cal Chocolate Cake, Pesto Veggie Lasagna, Quick Salad

From Denny: If you have been following this blog, by now you know I enjoy those fast and funny food videos along with some great recipes. The latest cookbook promotion is from a hit reality series star, Bethanny Frankel. Her new book is "The Skinnygirl Dish: Easy Recipes for Your Naturally Thin Life."

She's a big hit in "Real Housewives of New York." She's also a total foodie, loves chocolate, came up with some clever recipes and she's pregnant. The woman has this food craving thing down pat and came up with some smart and healthy tweaks so she can enjoy her favorite foods like lasagna and chocolate cake. Bethanny is a big fan of cutting the calories but not the taste. That's why she refuses to use no-fat products. Apparently, she and I agree on one thing about no-fat foods: "They taste like glue and you end up over-eating on something else to compensate." Your body needs some fat in the diet to be healthy.

CBS The Early Show runs this regular segment of "Chef on a Shoestring" where the challenge is to construct a three course meal for four people and keep it under $40. These challenges really sharpen your skills to think differently and try new things. Take a look:

In case anyone is unfamiliar with some of the ingredients and would like to learn more, here are some facts on what to look for when you are purchasing. Excerpted from Food Lover's Companion:

Arugula: Also known as Italian cress, rocket, rugula and rucola, arugula is a bitterish, aromatic salad green with a peppery mustard flavor. Though it has long been extremely popular with Italians, American palates often find its flavor too assertive. Arugula (which resembles radish leaves) can be found in specialty produce markets and in most supermarkets. It's sold in small bunches with roots attached. The leaves should be bright green and fresh looking. Arugula is very perishable and should be tightly wrapped in a plastic bag and refrigerated for no more than 2 days. Its leaves hold a tremendous amount of grit and must be thoroughly washed just before serving. Arugula makes a lively addition to salads, soups and sautéed vegetable dishes. It's a rich source of iron as well as vitamins A & C.

Pesto: Italian for "pounded," pesto is an uncooked sauce made with fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, parmesan or pecorino cheese and olive oil. The ingredients can either be crushed with mortar and pestle or finely chopped with a food processor. This classic, fresh-tasting sauce originated in Genoa, Italy, and although used on a variety of dishes, it is a favorite with pasta. Now there are "pestos" made from a myriad of other ingredients from cilantro to mint.

Lasagna: A wide, flat noodle, sometimes with ruffled edges. Lasagna is a dish made by layering boiled lasagna noodles with various cheeses (usually including mozzarella) with the cook's choice of sauce, the most common being tomato, meat of béchamel. This dish is then baked until bubbly and golden brown.

Oat Flour: Made from grouts that have been ground into powder. It contains no gluten, however, so - for baked goods that need to rise, like yeast breads - must be combined with a flour that does.

RECIPES

Arugula Salad with Simple Dressing

Bethenny: I think this easy, colorful salad is the world's perfect dish. Because the arugula is so flavorful, it only needs a simple dressing. I love arugula, but use any leafy green you love. Always lightly salt your salad greens.

Arrange the arugula on a platter. Sprinkle the corn on top, then arrange the avocado pieces and tomatoes over the corn. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle the Simple Dressing (see following recipe) over the salad. Garnish with basil.

Simple Dressing

Bethenny: This recipe looks too simple, but trust this dressing. Some of the best things are amazingly simple. The first time I dressed a salad with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper, it was a revelation.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cook the lasagna noodles according to the package directions (or use no-boil noodles). Set aside.

2. In a bowl combine the ricotta, basil, and pine nuts. Set aside.

3. Spray an 11 1/2 X 3 7-inch baking pan with cooking spray (or any other pan that fits the lasagna noodles you have- this was the size that my recipe tester used). Spread one-third of the pesto in the bottom of the pan. Cover with half the noodles.

Spread half the herb-ricotta mixture over the noodles. Repeat with another one-third of the pesto, the remaining noodles, the remaining herb-ricotta mixture, then cover the whole thing with the remaining pesto. Sprinkle the mozzarella over the top.

4. Bake for 30 minutes, or until heated through and bubbling. Let sit for about 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

How-Is-This-So-Moist Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Glaze

Bethenny: When I first made this recipe, my fiancé and I stared at each other for days afterward, marveling at how moist and delicious this cake was. We couldn't believe it. I even accused him of dumping a stick of butter into the batter when I was in the bathroom. I kept looking at the recipe trying to figure out what made it so moist. It really is the dessert mystery of all time, as far as I'm concerned.

This recipe is wheat-free, vegan, and easy. I make this cake in a loaf pan so that each slice has just a little bit of the delicious peanut butter glaze, but you could also make it in a round or square cake pan or a release pan, or you could make cupcakes. Just be sure to use plenty of cooking spray and parchment paper. Make this recipe for any special occasion or just because you want chocolate cake.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Put all of the ingredients in a bowl and stir until combined.

2. Pour the batter into a loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake 40 to 50 minutes, rotating the pan about halfway through the baking time. When a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, it's done. However, I like my cake a little bit underdone and gooey. If some moist crumbs cling to your toothpick, you can consider that done.

3. Let the cake cool completely, and then top with Peanut Butter Glaze (recipe follows). Slice and serve.

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix with a hand blender until the sugar crystals are dissolved. If they aren't dissolving, you can gently heat the mixture until they do (heat on low on the stove or on 50 percent power in the microwave, stirring every 20 seconds). Spread the glaze on the cake.

So, how did Bethenny fare as a Chef on a Shoestring competition? Here's the pricing:

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Bored with homogenized journalism? Yeah, me too which is why I started all my blogs. Deep thinking of the news and how it affects our lives along with lots of humor posts and much more from my 24 blogs. A free to read online newspaper from independent journalist blogger Denny Lyon. Sit back, relax, get informed, cook a little and laugh a lot: http://dennysnews2.blogspot.com - where all the blogs link so you can peruse for your interests.

I'm a hybrid journalist-blogger which befuddles the publishing and journalism industries that are in serious flux these days - OK, the publishing houses have been melting down. What is not to understand? Time to rock on and catch up with the fast moving times. Hmmm... maybe I have Tiger or Dragon blood after all. :)

Social Issues Poet (SIP), Google searched as
"The Social Prophet," abstract artist, photographer, life philosophy and spirituality writer, great cook.

Writing eclectic interests on world news, American politics, great simple food and recipes, chocolate as the other food group, throw up some of my art, poetry,
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